Our Mission

The Mission of the Institute is to provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write in order to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense.

From the very beginning the U.S. Navy played a central role in what turned out to be a forty-five-year confrontation between East and West known as the Cold War. The Navy was a key player in the Cold War because of its ability to project U.S. presence and power to the far corners of the globe. This detailed new reference work provides for the first time a useful chronological outline of Cold War developments and events as they relate to U.S. and Soviet naval forces and their allies.

The book covers naval presence and combat operations from Korea, the Suez campaign, and the Vietnam War to the Iran-Iraq conflict, the Falklands War, and the Gulf War. Smaller-scale confrontations also are included. Naval technological and personnel developments are recorded, such as the unveiling of new ship types, advances in missile technology, introduction of new aircraft, and changes in naval leadership. Context is guaranteed by the inclusion of major Cold War events whether related to the sea or not, but the main emphasis is to show how the Cold War evolved in the maritime environment. Readers will find information about the Cuban missile crisis, the massive Soviet naval expansion, the largest peacetime U.S. naval buildup in history during the 1980s, and hundreds of other crucial Cold War events at sea.

A glossary defines military acronyms and terms. Appendixes list individuals who held the highest military offices in the USSR and the United States between 1945 and 1991. With new information made available through the opening of Russian archives, this book serves as a walk through history as well as an indispensable reference for all naval history buffs and students of the Cold War.

Norman Polmar is an internationally known analyst, consultant, and award-winning author specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence areas. He has participated in or directed major studies in these areas for the U.S. Department of Defense and Navy, and served as a consultant to U.S. and foreign commercial firms and government agencies. He has been an advisor or consultant on naval issues to three U.S. Secretaries of the Navy and two Chiefs of Naval Operations, as well as to three U.S. Senators and a Speaker of the House of Representatives. He is the author or coauthor of more than 50 published books, including nine editions of Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet and four editions of Guide to the Soviet Navy as well as U.S. Nuclear Arsenal, Ship Killer, and Project Azorian. Mr. Polmar is a columnist for the Proceedings and Naval History magazines. He is a resident of Alexandria, VA.

More by this Author

SUBMARINES OF THE RUSSIAN AND SOVIET NAVIES, 1718-1990

The first book to comprehensively describe Russian and Soviet submarine development and operations... Read More

CHRONOLOGY OF THE COLD WAR AT SEA, 1945 - 1991

From the very beginning the U.S. Navy played a central role in what turned out to be a forty-five-... Read More

THE NAVAL INSTITUTE GUIDE TO SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT OF THE U.S. FLEET, 18TH EDITION

Packed with authoritative information, up-to-date photographs, line drawings, maps, and useful... Read More

THE U.S. NUCLEAR ARSENAL

The atomic bomb ended the war against Japan in 1945 and became the centerpiece of U.S. and Soviet... Read More